Drapery traverse rod structure



June 9, 1959 Rf E. BELL ErAL 2,889,573

DRAPERY TRAvERsE Ron STRUCTURE Filed Jan. 18, 1957 IN VEN TORS.

United States Patent O DRAPERY TRAVERSE ROD STRUCTURE Ralph E. Bell andLedger D. Ford, Sturgis, Mich., as- Asigners to Kirsch Company, Sturgis,Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application January 1S, 1957, SerialNo. 635,002

7 Claims. (Cl. 16-94) This invention relates in general to a draperytraverse rod assembly for slidably supporting a plurality of draperyhangers wherein said traverse rod has an elongated guide way and an endstructure removably secured to said rod for supporting same. Moreparticularly, this invention relates to a traverse rod end structurehaving means whereby said hangers may alternately, at the will of theuser, be retained within said guide way or withdrawn therefrom.

Persons acquainted with the installation and operation of draperytraverse rods have long recognized the' problems which arise when it isdesired to increase or decrease the number of hangers supported by thetraverse rod after the rod has been assembled. While these problemsapply in some degree to many types of traverse rods, detailed referenceis iirst made, by way of illustration, to the presently existing,adjustable type of traverse rod which is mass produced and can be easilyvaried in length, within a limited range, prior to installation. Suchadjustability is usually obtained by providing a pair of rod members intelescoping relationship with each other in a well known manner. Endstructures, including pulley assemblies, are secured, usuallysubstantially permanently, upon the mutually remote ends of such rodmembers. The hangers are usually placed upon the rod members duringassembly of the traverse rod. When assembly of the rod is completed, andwhether or not installation of the rod into an operating position hasbeen effected, it requires a substantial disassembly of the rod tochange the number of hangers providedV therein.

Because of the variable length of the adjustable type of rod and thewide variety of uses to which such a rod may be put, it is impossible toassemble such rods at the factory with the correct number of hangers forevery possible, or even every reasonably likely, application. On theother hand, as indicated above, it is extremely difficult to change thenumber of hangers vin a rod after assembly has been completed.Therefore, the industry has quite commonly provided the rod in itsoriginal assembly with a few extra hangers to enable it to meet normalrequirements in its fully extended condition. This is well enough for alarge proportion of uses, but it is nevertheless a disadvantage and amakeshift. When the rod is used in less than its fully extendedposition, unused hangers may be present therein which not only increasethe cost of the product but also often tend to obstruct the freemovement of the hangers actually being used. Further, having in mind themany types of drapery materials which may be used with a given traverserod, and the many different individual tastes exercised in determiningthe type and frequency of folds applied to said drapery material, it isimpossible to anticipate accurately the proper number of hangers to beprovided in a given traverse rod even if the exact length thereof isknown in advance.

Referring now to custom made traverse rods, the assembly here usuallyoccurs at the point of installation where the exact length of the rodand often the type of drapery material to be supported by said traverserod r, l ce 2,889,573

' change the nature of the folds therein, in such a manner are known.Thus, the problem thus far discussed with I'.

that a dilerent number of hangers becomes desirable. With either thecustom made traverse rod or the adjustable type traverse rod, this isvirtually impossible without rcmoving the rod from its position of use,substantially disassembling it, changing the number of hangers asdesired and then reassembling the traverse rod and reinstalling it intoits position of use. Thus, the operation of changing the number ofhangers in a traverse rod after it has been installed into its positionof use is one which is extremely difficult and one which can be carriedout only by a person having considerable knowledge of the constructionof traverse rods and the manner of their assembly.

The same problems may also arise for either type of traverse rod afterinstallation if a hanger breaks, becomes worn or otherwise formechanical reasons needs replacement.

Numerous attempts have been made to provide traverse rods with deviceswhereby said hangers can be removed from the giude way of the traverserod, without disassembling the device and especially without removingthe rod from its mounting upon a supporting structure, such as a wall.For example, in one previous attempt, the guide way was provided with anotch or slot between its Y ends, through which the hangers could beremoved or inserted. However, if this slot in the rod is not closed, itnot only provides an interruption to the movement of the hangers, henceto the smooth operation of the traverse mechanism, but also may permitaccidental disengagement of the hangers 'from Athe rod. If the slot isclosed, then the closure member itself tends to interrupt the smoothoperation of the traverse mechanism. Other attempts'have been made toovercome the problems by providing hangers with resilient means, which,when compressed, `can be inserted into, or removed from, the guide wayin the traverse rod. However, when the resilient means in Asuch hangersis made suiciently resistive to4 compression to prevent accidentaldisengagement Vof the hangers from the traverse rod, it then oftenbecomes difficult to operate manually as a practical matter.

Accordingly, a principal object of this invention has been the provisionof a traverse rod assembly having an end structure whereby the hangerelements slidably supported upon the traverse rod can be quickly andeasily mounted upon, or removed from, said traverse rod, withoutcreating in the guide way for said hangers any distortion which willinterfere with the smooth operation of the traverse mechanism, withoutweakening the supporting strength of either said rod or said hangers,and without unreasonably complicating the structure of said rod or saidhangers.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of an endsupporting and mounting structure for a traverse rod having an elongatedguide way therein, which will permit removal from an extreme end of saidguide way of any desired number of the hangers supported within saidguide way or 'which can prevent such removal by manually and easilyoperated means.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of an endstructure, as aforesaid, including a gate, which is easily and manuallymovable into, and out of, a position blocking the open end of the guideway in a traverse rod in which hangers are slidably supported, said gatebeing easily adapted to any form of traverse rod conventionally used.

A further object of this invention has been the pro- Patented June 9,1959.

3 vision of Van end structure, as aforesaid, wherein the device forpermitting said insertion and removal of the hangers can be easily andinexpensively fabricated, without adding materially to the cost offabricating such end structures and while permitting the use of hangersof the simplest and least expensive form.

Other objects and purposes of this invention will become apparent topersons familiar with this type of equipment upon reading the followingspecification and examining the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of one end of a traverse rodassembly embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view, similar to that shown in Figure l,with a part thereof in a different operating position.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III- HI of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV- lV of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a sectional view, substantially as taken along the line V--Vof Figure l.

For the purpose of convenience in description, the terms upper, lower,front, rear, and derivatives thereof, will have reference to thestructure in its normal position of operation, as appearing in Figures 1and 2. The terms innen outer, and derivatives thereof, will havereference, respectively, to the rightward and leftward ends of thestructure, as appearing in Figures 1 and 2.

Similarly, the terms verticalj horizontaL derivatives thereof, and otherwords imparting position, will be freely used for convenience inreference and will be understood to refer to the structure as shown andin its position of normal use. However, the use of such terminologyshall not imply that the structure cannot be used in other positions,nor shall it imply that the principles of the invention, as hereinafterdefined, cannot be employed'in modified structures having other anddiffering positions of normal use.

General description The invention of this application is characterizedin general by an elongated traverse rod, having a hanger supportingguide way running lengthwise thereof and opening through the ends of thetraverse rod. An end structure is supported upon each end of thetraverse rod and mounts an end gate for selectively blocking theadjacent, open end of said guide way. Accordingly, it is possible toinsert hanger elements into the guide way and to remove said hangerelements therefrom by opening this gate, but when the gate is closed,the hangers are held reliably within the guide way.

Detailed construction While the structure of the present invention maybe successfully applied to a number of different types of specifictraverse rod constructions, one particular embodiment has been selectedfor the purposes of illustrating the invention. The end construction ofsuch a traverse rod is hereinafter described in detail for purposes ofcompleteness in disclosure, but it should not be taken from this thatthe principles of the invention are limited to use with this particulartype of traverse rod and end construction.

As shown particularly in Figures 1 and 2, the preferred traverse rodassembly here selected to illustrate the invention includes an endmember 11, which is removably mounted upon one end of the traverse rod12. The traverse rod 12 (Figures 1 and 4) may be an elongated,substantially tubular element, of any convenient crosssectional shape,having in the rear side 14 thereof a horizontal slot or guide way 13which extends from one end to the other of said rod. A plurality ofhangers 15 are each provided with integral, rod-like slider portions 16,which are slidably disposed within the guide way 13.` Each sliderportion 16 has a head 17, which is dis- 4 posed within the cavity 18 ofthe rod 12, for the purpose of preventing disengagement of the hangers15 from within the guide way 13. Each hanger 15 has a downward extension19 from which means, such as conventional drapery, may be suspended inany `desired manner.

The end member 11 is comprised of a substantially rectangular shell 21(Figures l, 3, and 5) and in this embodiment has an integral,channel-shaped arm 22 extending sidewardly from one edge thereof, forthe purpose of telescopingly engaging the end of the rod 12. The upperliange 23 on the channel-shaped arm 22 preferably has a downwardlyextending finger 24, which in the embodiment here shown to illustratethe invention is receivable into a recess 25 in the upper edge of therod 12 near its outer end, for the purpose of locking the end member 11to the rod 12. The end member may be mounted upon supporting structure,such as a wall, in any desired manner either directly or indirectly. Onecommon type of such mounting is the suspension bracket indicated inbroken lines at 20 in Figure 3.

The shell 21 in this embodiment has an integral, horizontal support ange26 (Figures 1, 2 and 3) which extends rearwardly from the upper edge of,and is preferably substantially perpendicular to, the plane of the backsurface 29 of said shell. An L-shaped pulley bracket 27, having anupper, substantially horizontal flange 23, is mounted upon, andsuspended from, the support flange 26 by means, such as the rivets 30,which extend through the flanges 28 and 26. The mounting plate 31, whichextends perpendicularly downwardly from the flange 28, is spacedrearwardly from, and arranged substantially parallel with, the backsurface 29 of the shell 21. A pair of pulleys 33 and 34 are rotatablysupported upon the mounting plate 31 so that the upper edges-of theirperipheries are at different levels, but are both aligned with thelengthwise extent of the cavity 18 in the rod 12, as shown in Figure 3.

The inner edge of the mounting plate 31, adjacent to the outer end ofthe rod 12, is provided with a recess 36 adjacent to the outer end ofthe guide way 13. The combined area of the recess 36 and adjacentportion of said guide way 13 provides an opening of sufficient size topermit the head 17 (Figure 4) of a hanger 15 to be inserted into, orremoved from, the cavity 18, as indicated by the broken line position17a in Figure 2.

An elongated gate 37 is pivotally supported near one end upon themounting plate 31 adjacent to said recess 36. Said gate, which isflanged at its other end 38, is movable into, and out of, the positionshown in Figure l, wherein it partially covers said recess 36 and saidflanged end 38 blocks the outer, open end of the guide way 13. Therecess 36 has means, such as a step 39, for providing an-upwardlyfacing, positioning surface 41 along its lower edge. Said surface 41 isadvantageously aligned with the lengthwise extent of the guide way 13.The gate 37 has an integral stop finger 42 (Figure 5) extendingfrontwardly therefrom, between the ends thereof, for engagement with theedge surface `41 of the recess 36. When said stop finger 42 is inengagement with the surface 41, the gate 37 is in its blocking position,as shown in Figure 1. When the gate 37 is pivoted upwardly into itsnon-blocking position, as shown in Figure 2, the stop finger `42 isspaced upwardly from the surface 41. The stop linger 42, the pivot axis43 of the gate 37, and the flanged end 38 on said gate 37 are allpreferably arranged so that said ange 38 is located appreciably belowthe level of both the centerline of the guide way 13 and a horizontalline passing through the pivot axis 43, when the stop linger 42 engagesthe edge surface 41. Thus, if the hangers 15 are urged against theflanged end 38, as by the traverse cords 44 (Figure l), such urging willtend to move the gate 37 downwardly and, therefore, more firmly into itsblocking position.

Operation Having mounted the end member 11 upon the outer end of thetraverse rod 12, said end member is, in the embodiment here illustrated,secured in place by bending the finger 24 into the recess 25 on said rod12. The traverse cords 44 are arranged over the pulleys 33 and 34 in aconventional manner. The traverse rod assembly may then be supportedupon a wall, or other structure, by conventional means, such as thesuspension member 20, which is secured to the shell 21, according toconventional practices. As a result of this invention, it is unnecessaryto place the hanger elements 15 upon the rod 12 prior to installationalthough for convenience this will normally be done, at least to theextent of a minimum number.

lf, after assembly of the unit, and either before or after installationinto its position of use, a larger number of hangers is required, thegate 37 may be raised into its Figure 2 position and the requiredhangers 15 may be mounted upon the rod 12 by successively insertingtheir heads 17 into the opening provided by the recess 36 in themounting plate 31 and moving them sidewardly so that their slideportions 16 are received into the guide way 13. When the desired numberof hangers 15 is mounted within the guide way 13 in this manner, thegate 37 is then pivoted downwardly into its Figure l position, and thedraperies, or other means, are hung on the elements 15 in asubstantially conventional manner.

When it becomes desirable to decrease the quantity of hangers 15 in theguide way 13, either before or after installation, such can also beeasily and quickly accomplished by moving the gate 37 upwardly, removingthe desired number of hangers through the open end of the `guide way,and then returning the gate 37 into its blocking position as shown inFigure l.

Although a particular, preferred embodiment of the invention has beendisclosed in detail hereinabove for illustrative purposes, it will berecognized that variations or modications thereof, which do not departfrom the scope of such disclosure, are fully contemplated unlessspecifically stated to the contrary in the appended claims.

We claim:

l. A traverse rod structure for slidably and removably supporting aplurality of hanger elements, comprising: an elongated hollow traverserod having a longitudinally extending lateral slot, the hanger elementsbeing received within said rod and extending outwardly therefrom throughsaid slot; an end xture supporting one end of said rod and extendinglongitudinally beyond said end thereof, said end fixture including aplate spaced longitudinally from said end of said rod thereby providinga clearance space in which the hanger elements may be inserted into orremoved from said rod; a gate pivotally mounted on said plate andincluding a blocking member pivotable into a rst position at one end ofsaid rod blocking movement of hanger elements into said clearance spaceand into a second position permitting movement of hanger elements intosaid clearance space whereby said hanger elements may be inserted intoor removed from said rod; and stop means on said plate and engageablewith said gate for blocking movement thereof past said iirst position asit moves from said second position to said first position.

2. An end structure for supporting an elongated, hollow traverse rodhaving a longitudinally extending lateral slot in which hanger elementsare slidably disposable, said end structure including: a shell removablysecured to one end of said traverse rod; a plate secured to said shelland extending downwardly with respect to said rod, said plate beingsubstantially aligned with said slot and being spaced longitudinallyfrom the end of said rod to provide a clearance space in which thehanger elements may be moved transversely and longitudinally whereby ingmovement of hanger elements into said clearance space and into a secondposition permitting movement of said hanger elements into said clearancespace,

3. An end structure for supporting an elongated, hollow traverse rodhaving a longitudinally extending lat- Vteral slot in which hangerelements are slidably disposable, said end structure including: a shellremovably secured to one end of said traverse rod; a pair of parallel,spaced plates secured to said shell and extending downwardly andsubstantially parallel with the longitudinal ,4 axis of said rod; a pairof radially aligned pulleys positioned between said plates and rotatablymounted thereon, one of said pulleys being below said slot and the otherpulley being located above and longitudinally outwardly of said onepulley, said plates and said pulleys being spaced longitudinally fromsaid end of said rod to provide a clearance space in which hangerelements may be moved transversely and longitudinally whereby hangerelements may be inserted into or removed from said rod;

a gate mounted on one of said plates for pivoting about -elements fromsaid slot into said clearance space and a second position permittingmovement of hanger elements from'said slot into said clearance space;and stop means on said one plate and engageable with said gate forblocking movement thereof past said first position as said gate movesfrom said second position to said iirst position.

4. An end fixture structure for supporting an elongated, hollow traverserod having a longitudinally extending lateral slot in the rearwardsurface thereof in which hanger elements are slidably disposable, saidend structure including; a shell removably secured to one end of saidtraverse rod, said shell having a downwardly extending surface forwardlyof the traverse rod and a horizontally extending surface extendingrearwardly therefrom: a pair of parallel spaced plates secured to andextending downwardly from said horizontal surface, said plates beingsubstantially aligned with the forward and rearward surfaces of saidtraverse rod, respectively; the edges of said plates adjacent the end ofsaid rod being longitudinally spaced therefrom to provide a clearancespace in which hanger elements may be moved transversely andlongitudinally whereby hanger elements may be inserted into or removedfrom said rod; a pair of radially aligned pulleys positioned between androtatably mounted on said plates, one of said pulleys being locatedadjacent the end of said traverse rod and below the slot therein and theother of said pulleys being located remote from the end of said traverserod and substantially aligned with said slot; an elongated bar mountedon the rearward plate for pivotal movement about an axis extendingtransverse to the longitudinal axis of said rod, said pivot axis beinglocated between the axis of said pulleys and substantially aligned withsaid slot, said bar having a blocking member thereon pivotal between afirst position wherein it lies adjacent to said horizontal surface and asecond position wherein it lies adjacent the lower edge of said slot andblocks longitudinal movement of hanger elements beyond the end of thetraverse rod.

5. A traverse rod structure for slidably and removably supporting aplurality of hanger elements, comprising: an elongated hollow traverserod having a longitudinally extending lateral slot, the hanger elementsbeing received within the rod and extending outwardly therefrom throughsaid slot; an end fixture supporting one end of said rod and extendinglongitudinally beyond the end thereof, said end fixture providing alaterally open clearance space aligned with and communicating with saidslot adjacent said one end of said rod so that hangerV elements may beadded to or removed from said rod by longitudinal movement thereof fromor into said clearance space; an elongated, manually movable gate barand means pivotally mounting said gate bar on said tixture for pivotalmovement about a lateral axis parallel with said lateral slot, said gatebar having a blocking member at one end thereof pivotable between aiirst position at one end of said rod blocking movement of hangerelements into said clearance space and a second position remote fromsaid one end of said rod permitting movement of hanger elements intosaid. clearance space whereby hanger elements may be inserted into orremoved from said rod.

6. A traverse rod structure for slidably and removably supporting aplurality of hanger elements, comprising: an elongated hollow traverserod having a longitudinally extending lateral slot, the hanger elementsbeing received within the rod and extending outwardly therefrom throughsaid slot; an end iixture supporting one end of said rod and extendinglongitudinally beyond the end thereof, said end fixture providing aclearance space aligned with and communicating with said slot adjacentsaid one end of said rod so that hanger elements may be added to orremoved from said rod by longitudinal movement thereof from or into saidclearance space; a manually movable gate movably mounted adjacent saidone end of said rod, said gate including a blocking member movablebetween a first position at one end of said rod blocking longitudinalmovement of hanger elements into said clearance space and a secondposition remote from said end of said rod permitting movement of saidhanger elements into said clearance space.

7.` The. structure of claim 6 wherein said gate is an elongated barpivotally secured near one end uponsaid Y end fixture for movement aboutan axis disposed transverse of, and near to, the extended center line ofsaid guide way; said bar having a blocking surface near the otherendthereof engageable with the adjacent hanger in said guide way whensaid gate is in said blocking position and said surface is substantiallyon one side of said center line, a limiting surface fixed with respectto said end xture; and limiting means on said bar engageable with saidlimiting surface for preventing movement of said blocking surface in adirection away from said center line on-said one side thereof when saidgate is in blocking position, whereby a force urging said hanger elementagainst said gate when in blocking position will tend to urge said-gatemore firmly into blocking position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS928,137 Lewis July 13, 1909 2,147,625 Brothers Feb. 21, 1939 2,590,370Bell Mai'. 25, 1952 2,671,243 Hakansson Mar. 9, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS296,021 Germany J an. 8 1917 693,735 Germany July 18, 1940

